Explanation:
Scattered within
this
cavernous nebula, cataloged as
NGC 604,
are over 200 newly formed hot, massive, stars.
At 1,500 light-years across, this expansive cloud of interstellar gas
and dust is effectively a giant
stellar nursery located some three million light-years distant in
the spiral galaxy, M33.
The newborn stars irradiate the gas with
energetic ultraviolet light
stripping electrons from atoms and producing a
characteristic
nebular glow.
The
details
of the nebula's structure hold
clues to the mysteries of star formation and galaxy evolution.